What is Impressionism? The impressionist art movement originated in France in the last quarter of the 19th century as a reaction against traditional art and its strict rules. The term impressionist was first used by French art critic Louis Leroy in 1874 based on Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise. Leroy found the term fitting to describe the loose, undefined and "unfinished" style that Monet and several other artists applied to their paintings. Many of the impressionists artists captured scenes from everyday life. Rather than the common art in France that depicted historical scenes or religious beliefs.

What is the impact of french impressionism in America? From the 1890s through the 1910s, American impressionism flourished in art colonies aka loosely connected groups of artists who lived and worked together sharing something they all have in common, the love or art and impressionism. Art colonies tended to form in small towns that provided affordable living, lots of scenery for painting, and rather easy access to large cities where artists could sell their work. Some of the most important American impressionist artists gathered at Cos Cob and Old Lyme, Connecticut, both on Long Island Sound; New Hope, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River; and Brown County Indiana. American impressionist artists also thrived in California at Carmel and Laguna Beach; in New York on eastern Long Island at Shinnecock, largely due to the influence of William Merritt Chase; and in Boston where Edmund Charles Tarbell and Frank Weston Benson became important practitioners of the impressionist style. Instead of simply copying the French style of impressionism, many American artists developed their own techniques. The included more structure and realism in their work. In the 1950’s almost a 25 years after Monet's death, there was a spurt of exhibitions opening up in America showcasing some of the original types of French impressionism. These exhibits compared the new style of American Impressionism to the old style of French Impressionism

American Impressionism Low Tide, By Theodore Robinson Childe Hassam Theodore Robinson Edmund C. Tarbell Willard Metcalf Daniel Garber Philip Leslie Hale William Glackens Ernest Lawson Colin Campbell Cooper Frederick Carl Frieseke Icebound, By Willard Metcalf Bathing At Bellport, By William Glackens